5-day fat loss routine

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fat loss5 days/weekfree

A fat loss routine over 5 days is built to lose fat without losing the muscle you have, with dense sessions and a moderate deficit.

Parameters the engine applies

Parameter	Value
Assigned structure	5-day PPL
Reps per set	10-20
Sets per exercise	3-4
Rest between sets	30-90 s
RIR (reps in reserve)	2-4
Intensity	55-70% 1RM
Share of compound exercises	70 %

These are not generic recommendations: they are the exact parameters the engine uses to build this routine, and they change with the goal you pick.

How your week looks

Day	Session
Day 1	Push A
Day 2	Pull A
Day 3	Legs
Day 4	Push B
Day 5	Pull B + Core

The engine splits muscle groups across sessions according to the structure that matches your available days.

Exercise table: the week the engine builds

This is the routine Progrevia builds for an intermediate lifter with a full gym and 60-minute sessions: 33 exercises and 99 sets per week. Yours adapts to your level, your equipment and your time, so it may differ.

Day 1 · Push A

Exercise	Sets × reps	RIR	Rest
Incline dumbbell bench press	3 × 8-10	3-4	75 s
Z-bar overhead press	3 × 8-10	3-4	75 s
Bench dips	3 × 8-10	3-4	75 s
Decline dumbbell flyes	3 × 12-20	3-4	60 s
Dumbbell pullover	3 × 12-20	3-4	60 s
Face pull	3 × 12-20	3-4	60 s

Day 2 · Pull A

Exercise	Sets × reps	RIR	Rest
Barbell row	3 × 10-15	3-4	60 s
Pull-ups	3 × 10-15	3-4	60 s
Farmer carry	3 × 10-15	3-4	60 s
Preacher curl	3 × 12-20	3-4	60 s
Cable pullover	3 × 12-20	3-4	60 s
Straight-arm pulldown	3 × 12-20	3-4	60 s

Day 3 · Legs

Exercise	Sets × reps	RIR	Rest
Dumbbell lunges	3 × 15-20	3-4	60 s
Good mornings	3 × 15-20	3-4	60 s
Sumo deadlift	3 × 15-20	3-4	60 s
Leg press calf raise	3 × 12-20	3-4	60 s
Single-leg leg extension	3 × 12-20	3-4	60 s
Leg extension	3 × 12-20	3-4	60 s
Lying leg curl	3 × 12-20	3-4	60 s

Day 4 · Push B

Exercise	Sets × reps	RIR	Rest
Parallel bar dips	3 × 10-15	3-4	60 s
Arnold press	3 × 10-15	3-4	60 s
Bench dips	3 × 10-15	3-4	60 s
Landmine rotation	3 × 10-15	3-4	60 s
Pec deck flyes	3 × 12-20	3-4	60 s
Cable crossover	3 × 12-20	3-4	60 s
Front raise	3 × 12-20	3-4	60 s

Day 5 · Pull B + Core

Exercise	Sets × reps	RIR	Rest
Gironda row	3 × 15-20	3-4	60 s
Lat pulldown	3 × 15-20	3-4	60 s
45° back extension machine	3 × 15-20	3-4	60 s
Landmine rotation	3 × 15-20	3-4	60 s
Overhead cable curl	3 × 12-20	3-4	60 s
Cable pullover	3 × 12-20	3-4	60 s
Straight-arm pulldown	3 × 12-20	3-4	60 s

Weekly sets per muscle group

Muscle group	Sets per week
Back	24
Chest	18
Shoulders	12
Quads	9
Abs	6
Biceps	6
Hamstrings	6
Triceps	6
Glutes	3
Lower back	3
Calves	3
Traps	3

Each set is counted on the exercise's main muscle. It is the most direct way to compare this routine with another: at equal effort, weekly volume is what weighs most on the result.

What changes compared with the 4-day routine

With 5 days the week adds up to 99 sets; with 4, 97. These are the differences per muscle group:

Shoulders: 7 → 12
Chest: 14 → 18
Biceps: 3 → 6
Back: 21 → 24
Lower back: 0 → 3
Traps: 0 → 3
Triceps: 3 → 6
Abs: 4 → 6
Quads: 14 → 9
Glutes: 11 → 3
Hamstrings: 17 → 6

Sessions in the 4-day routine: Upper A (Push), Legs A, Upper B (Pull), Legs B.

Losing fat with 5 days of lifting without losing muscle

In a deficit, lifting makes sure what you lose is fat rather than muscle. Two findings sum it up. In the trial by Longland and colleagues (2016, American Journal of Clinical Nutrition), with a large deficit and intense training, the higher-protein group gained lean mass and lost more fat than the lower-protein group. And in the study by Garthe and colleagues (2011), athletes who lost weight more slowly kept their lean mass and strength better than those who lost it fast.

With 5 days, the weekly training cost is high; in a deficit, watch your rest and avoid stacking lots of hard cardio on top.

The week the engine builds has 5 sessions, 33 exercises and 99 sets in total. Counting sets and rest, each session takes about 35 minutes, not including the warm-up.

Your first four weeks on the 5-day fat loss routine
Week	What to do	Why
1	Set the deficit (around 0.5-1% of bodyweight per week) and your protein, and hit your 5 sessions (Push A, Pull A, Legs, Push B, Pull B + Core)	Scale goes down without strength dropping
2	Keep the loads on z-bar overhead press and barbell row even as calories go down	Strength is the sign you are keeping muscle
3	Check your weekly average weight and adjust 100-200 kcal if it is not moving	Correct with data, not with a single day
4	If fatigue builds, a lighter week: about 59 of the 99 sets across your 5 sessions	Reach the next month with energy

References

Longland TM, Oikawa SY, Mitchell CJ, Devries MC, Phillips SM. Higher compared with lower dietary protein during an energy deficit combined with intense exercise promotes greater lean mass gain and fat mass loss: a randomized trial. American Journal of Clinical Nutrition. 2016;103(3):738-746.
Garthe I, Raastad T, Refsnes PE, Koivisto A, Sundgot-Borgen J. Effect of two different weight-loss rates on body composition and strength and power-related performance in elite athletes. International Journal of Sport Nutrition and Exercise Metabolism. 2011;21(2):97-104.

How the week is split

Push, pull and legs, plus a second push day and a pull day with core: the upper body is trained twice a week and the legs once. This week, 6 of the 12 muscle groups with their own exercise are trained twice or more and 6 once.

What your routine includes

Sessions of 6 to 7 exercises and 18 to 21 sets.
No exercise goes above 6 sets a week: the volume is spread across several.
Reps of 8 to 20 and rests of 60 to 75 seconds, depending on the exercise and the day.
RIR 3-4 in the first week, 2-3 in the second and 1-2 in the third; in the deload it rises to 4-6.
The engine suggests the load for each session from what you log (double progression).

Who is this routine for?

That is 5 sessions of about 60 minutes, 5 hours a week, with 99 sets in total: about 20 per session. It fits if you can set aside those 5 days consistently; if not, look at the 4-day routine.

Exercises it usually includes

Other routines you may like

Generate yours for free

Progrevia creates your personalized fat loss routine of 5 days in under a minute, no mandatory sign-up and no card. With a free account you can download it as a PDF.

Learn the theory

How to lose fat without losing muscle: recomposition

Frequently asked questions

How many days a week should I train?

It depends on your availability and recovery. 5 days a week is a balanced option for a fat loss goal.

Do I need a gym to lose fat with the 5-day routine?

No. When losing fat, lifting is there to keep your muscle, and you can do that at home with dumbbells or bands as long as the effort stays high. Progrevia adapts the exercises to your equipment.

How much weight will I lose?

It depends on the deficit, not the routine: at a sensible pace, around 0.5-1% of bodyweight per week. At 80 kg that is about 0.4-0.8 kg a week. Look at the weekly average, not a single day.

How many sets per week does the 5-day fat loss routine have?

99 sets spread over 33 exercises and 5 sessions. The group that gets the most work is back, with 24 weekly sets.

Should I do cardio on top of the 5-day fat loss routine?

It helps, but it is not the main lever: diet sets the deficit and lifting protects muscle. What adds the most with the least recovery cost is moving more outside the gym, such as walking daily. If you add hard cardio, do not put it right before your leg session. With 5 lifting sessions a week, your free days are the best ones to walk more.

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